Teredo \Te*re"do\, n.; pl. E. Teredos, L. Teredines. [L., a worm that gnaws wood, clothes, etc.; akin to Gr. ?, L. terere to rub.]

(Zo["o]l.) A genus of long, slender, wormlike bivalve mollusks which bore into submerged wood, such as the piles of wharves, bottoms of ships, etc.; -- called also shipworm. See Shipworm. See Illust. in App.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)